West Sacramento, Calif. — AddressAide Hawaii Outreach (AAHO) will continue its unique program providing much-needed free prescription drug delivery to Oahu’s low-income senior and disabled community thanks in part to a $15,000 Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) loan.
Oahu is home to 108 low-income senior facilities where elderly and disabled residents — many with extremely limited incomes and physical or other restrictions — often have difficulty getting to pharmacies for essential prescriptions.
Incorporated in June, 2000, and existing on a shoe-string budget with a staff of mostly volunteers, AAHO delivers life-saving medications to 16 elder facilities on the island. AAHO currently delivers more than 500 prescriptions each month at no cost to the senior and disabled clients they serve. Agency officials say their plans include eventually providing service to all 108 senior facilities on Oahu and ultimately expanding the program statewide.
AAHO’s prescription delivery efforts were nearly dashed, however, when the agency recently was forced to terminate its relationship with one strategic community partner and faced the possibility of having to shut down operations.
The $15,000, 5 percent RCAC loan will enable AAHO to establish a revolving line of credit for operating expenses and participate in the U.S. Department of Human Services Grant Plus Program, which provides nonprofit organizations with financial compensation for every employee hired under the program.
“RCAC is the lifeboat that came by just in the nick of time and not only saved a one-of-a-kind, free prescription delivery service on Oahu, but also literally helped to save the lives of the Senior and Elderly Disabled population who benefit from our humanitarian outreach,” said Alisa J. Schoniwitz, president and project director for AAHO.
Headquartered in West Sacramento, California, and serving 13 western states, RCAC is a nonprofit agency that provides technical assistance and training to rural communities seeking to meet community resident needs and develop a wide range of local services including, among other things, community facilities, affordable housing and water treatment facilities. The organization operates a loan fund with $50 million in lending capital that provides low interest loans and grants to further these communities’ goals. RCAC operates field offices in both Hilo and Honolulu.